Apple Limiting Employee Travel to China Amid Coronavirus Outbreak, Working to Avoid Supply Shortages

During today's earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook commented on the coronavirus outbreak in China, which investors fear could potentially impact Apple's business, affecting production of both current iPhones and the new low-cost iPhone that's on the horizon.

Cook said that Apple is donating to China to help with the outbreak and working with partner companies.

iphone11prolineup

We're donating to groups that are working to contain the outbreak. We're working closely with our Apple team members in the affected areas, and our thoughts are with all of those in the region.

In an interview with CNBC, Cook confirmed that employee travel has been restricted to "business critical travel" only as of last week, and employees in Wuhan and across China are receiving care kits from Apple.

"We're restricting travel to business critical travel. For employees that are in the Wuhan area, we are providing care kits and supplying them across our employee population in China as well.

Cook said that Apple's decision to set next quarter guidance with a range of $4 billion is reflective of the coronavirus outbreak and the "uncertainty around that." Apple's guidance for Q2 2020 is $63 to $67 billion, a larger range than normal.

The situation is still emerging, said Cook, and Apple is monitoring the situation closely and gathering data points.

According to Cook, supplier factories in wider China are opening late after Chinese New Year, on February 10, which Apple is working to manage. Apple does have suppliers in the Wuhan area, but all of these suppliers have alternate suppliers, and Apple is working to ensure good supplies. Apple has accounted for the delayed startup with its larger range of outcomes.

In its retail stores, Apple is limiting hours, checking employees, and sanitizing its stores regularly. One store has also been shut down for the time being. Apple's retail sales have slowed due to virus concerns, but this is accounted for in Apple's guidance numbers for Q2 2020.

Top Rated Comments

MacInDawg Avatar
48 months ago
I have the right to delete.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
konqerror Avatar
48 months ago

Just remember...

The flu infected 42 million and killed 62,000 in 2019. The coronavirus has infected 9000 and killed 81 people...

Media: CORONAVIRUSSSSSS!!!!!!!
The flu kills a lot more people than Ebola. Therefore, we should not care about Ebola and stop any quarantine or vaccine research?
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MacInDawg Avatar
48 months ago
I have the right to delete.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BootsWalking Avatar
48 months ago

Just remember...

The flu infected 42 million and killed 62,000 in 2019. The coronavirus has infected 9000 and killed 81 people...

Media: CORONAVIRUSSSSSS!!!!!!!
There was a time when the Black Plague had only killed 81 people. I wonder if someone stood up then and said "but the flu kills a lot more people!" And no, I'm not saying the current virus is anywhere as deadly as the plague, although Corona viruses mutate rapidly and MERS had a near 35% mortality rate.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
pweicks Avatar
48 months ago
Just remember...

The flu infected 42 million and killed 62,000 in 2019. The coronavirus has infected 9000 and killed 81 people...

Media: CORONAVIRUSSSSSS!!!!!!!
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Tech198 Avatar
48 months ago
"We're restricting travel to business critical travel. For employees that are in the Wuhan area, we are providing care kits and supplying them across our employee population in China as well."

Good idea, since no one can get people out, due to lock-down, which is always the right thing to do anyway.

I'm still kinda impressed "Australia is OK" because symptoms don't show up always either on first attempt.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 15 Pro Lineup Feature

iPhone 15 Models Feature New Setting to Strictly Prevent Charging Beyond 80%

Tuesday September 19, 2023 2:04 pm PDT by
All of the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro models feature a new battery health setting that prevents the devices from charging beyond 80% at all times when enabled, as confirmed by The Verge's Allison Johnson during a Q&A session today. The new setting is separate from the pre-existing Optimized Battery Charging feature on iPhones, which intelligently delays charging past 80% until a more...
iOS 17 and iPhones Feature

iOS 17: 10 New Features That Just Launched

Sunday September 17, 2023 12:35 pm PDT by
In June, Apple announced iOS 17 with a wide range of new features and changes for the iPhone. Following over three months of beta testing, the free software update will be released this Monday, September 18 for the iPhone XS and newer. Below, we have recapped 10 key features coming to the iPhone with iOS 17, with additional features coming later this year. The update should be released to...
iOS 17

Apple Releases iOS 17.0.1 and iPadOS 17.0.1 With Bug Fixes, Plus iOS 17.0.2 for iPhone 15 Models

Thursday September 21, 2023 10:28 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 17.0.1 and iPadOS 17.0.1 updates for the iPhone and the iPad, adding bug fixes to the new software. The iOS 17.0.1 and iPadOS 17.0.1 updates come just a few days after Apple launched iOS 17 and iPadOS 17. The software, which is build 21A340, can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. There is a...
emojipedia 15 1 emoji

Emoji Coming to Future iOS 17 Update Include Shaking Head, Brown Mushroom, Lime, Phoenix and More

Tuesday September 19, 2023 12:43 pm PDT by
As Apple was announcing new iPhone models last week, the Unicode Consortium was officially approving new emoji characters that are set to be added to smartphones starting in 2024. Mockup of new emoji from Emojipedia Approved Unicode 15.1 emoji include phoenix, lime, an edible mushroom, shaking head vertically (as in a "yes" nod), shaking head horizontally (a "no" head shake), and broken...